It Never Really Went Away

A reader sent me this photo of himself wearing raspberry linen trousers with a white dinner jacket and Belgian Shoes, which reminds me of years ago when the guys I knew dressed like that. It's classic prep, an eastern thing that was diluted somewhere before it got to California via every chain clothing store.

The foundation of preppy dressing was originally an "I don't need to dress for success" style that generally related to preppy sports: casual wear for golf, polo, tennis, rugby, riding and sailing. There were no suits at the country club (the next step upwards in formality was the dinner jacket) and going to work after graduation usually required a completely different wardrobe. I envied the guys that went into publishing and could wear tweed to the office.

The classic prep undergraduate look was a pink, peach or yellow oxford cloth buttondown shirt worn over a polo shirt in a different, preferably clashing, pastel, a vibrant madras jacket (or a loud tweed plaid), Weejuns and khaki trousers. No socks.

The clothes that once signaled WASP membership are costume now. But raspberry linen trousers worn with a white dinner jacket somehow transcends Ralph Lauren.

What Makes a Sports Shirt?

What makes a shirt a sports shirt, which is to say something other than a dress shirt? Two things: fabric and pockets.

A sports shirt is usually intended to be worn as a top garment without a jacket, or, less often, under a sweater. That means it needs to take on some of the functions of a jacket. And, in my book, that means a sports shirt starts with two pleated pockets that button.

A sports shirt can have short sleeves or long sleeves with barrel cuffs. It may have shirt tails and a buttondown collar. Or, it may have square tails and a camp collar, which is a collar without the reinforcing band that keeps the collar standing. But when he's wearing a sports shirt a man needs pockets (it's the opposite of a dress shirt which in my opinion shouldn't have them).

The other characteristic of a sports shirt is that it typically has bolder fabric than a dress shirt. That might be bright solids in linen or silk; or Tattersalls, Scottish tartans, cotton madras or other checks and plaids. Heavier weights can also come into play, such as denim, viyella (like the pictured shirts from Ben Silver), moleskin and twill.

Whatever the fabric, remember that one pocket is not enough. There must be one on each side for balance across the chest. And buttons to keep them closed, so your sunglasses don't fall out every time you lean over.

The Last of the Seersucker

Initially I wasn't going to admit that it's me in this photo, snapped last week by marianneme at the Art Deco Society of California's Gatsby Summer Afternoon in Oakland, California. Not only do I not normally dress "deco" intentionally, I was photographed unawares and not in the best of moods despite the beautiful day. I'd arrived at the event with three ladies and had promptly lost track of all of them. And they had the corkscrew...

After consideration I decided I like the car as a background. Boater, spectator shoes in chestnut leather and pearl suede, seersucker double breasted, blue linen shirt, madras bow tie and similar, but not matching, argyle socks. With a seat stick.

The seersucker is ready for cleaning and storage for the season now, to be replaced in the active rotation by something tweed.